Asclepias 'Soulmate'

Once you have Ascelpias 'Soulmate' in your garden you’ll treasure it forever, just like a best friend! This lovely form of the American wildflower known as swamp milkweed has so much going for it. For starters, it attracts all kinds of butterflies, bees and beneficial insects to the garden, who flock to it all summer long to sip its potent nectar. It’s also a lovely addition to borders, wildflower meadows and pond areas, forming a good-sized clump with attractive, linear deep-green leaves and very pretty clusters of flowers, each one an intricate work of miniature deep rose-pink petals with a soft pinkish white heart. On top of that, the blooms of Ascelpias 'Soulmate' smell divinely sweet, giving off notes of vanilla in the summer breeze. Growing up to around 60cm tall, the long stems and lasting flower power makes it a fantastic cut flower too, so why not bring the fragrance indoors?  

The great thing about swamp milkweed is that it’s very adaptable and resilient, making it easy to grow and trouble-free once established. You can plant Ascelpias incarnata 'Soulmate' in wetter areas of the garden or in clay soils, as the swampy element of its common name indicates, but it’s equally happy in ordinary free-draining garden soils. Before planting into more challenging soil types, it’s a good idea to give Ascelpias 'Soulmate' a gentle start in temporary pots to grow on for a few months before planting out into the garden. You can grow it in groups in a border, where it looks great with other summer flowering perennials such as Monarda, Echinacea and maybe even a butterfly bush (Buddleja) and some scabious to create a nectar-bar for the insects.